ABSTRACT
Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8031, 6700 EH Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail: Amold.vanHuis@wur.nl
Abstract In sub-Saharan Africa 246 insect species are eaten, of which 30% belong to Lepi doptera, 29% to Orthoptera, and 6% to Isoptera. The other 35% include Coleoptera (19%), Homoptera (7%), Hymenoptera (5%), Heteroptera (3%), Diptera and Odonota (1%). The most important beetle species eaten is the larvae of the palm weevil (Rynchophorus phoenicis), which is considered a delicacy throughout humid Africa. Harvesting of the beetle larvae can be timed by cutting palms or trees several weeks earlier. From Hymenoptera, queens of the ant Carebara vidua are consumed. Other ant species are often used to flavor dishes. Bee larvae are often eaten together with the harvested honey. Pregnant women in Africa con sume clay not only from termite mounds but also from nests of the mud-dauber wasp, Synagris sp. This geophagy provides them with the minerals and trace elements necessary for fetal growth. From Diptera, the swarming lake fly Chaoborus edulis is made into a cake, which is very rich in protein and iron. From Heteroptera, the pungent Natalicola delegorguei is eaten in southern Africa and Agonoscelis versicolor in Sudan from which an edible oil is derived. Of the Homoptera, a number of cicada species are eaten. Excretions from the psyllid Arytaina mopane are known as mopane bread or lerp, which is collected as food in southern Africa. The waxy substance of another homopteran, the flattid Phromnia rubra is eaten in Madagascar. Possibilities are mentioned to stimulate the consumption of edible insects in Africa.
